Bear Child
by Luckynumber28
Summary: Beorn believes I was nine in human years when I fell into the dark, enchanted waters of the river flowing through the heart of Mirkwood. Other than this I have no memory of my life before he rescued me from a watery grave. He called me Cub so that is what I became; the Skinchanger's Cub. ( Eventual Fili/OC)
1. River

_There is one stream there, I know, black and strong which crosses the path. That you should neither drink of, nor bathe in; for I have heard it carries enchantment and a great drowsiness and forgetfulness._  
- Beorn, _The Hobbit _-

The first thing I knew was the cold blackness of the inky current. The river was swallowing me up in its ferocious embrace, carrying me under the moss eaten and webbed canopy of Mirkwood. I blinked into dim half-light where I floated on my back.

A pair of giant, thickly furred arms caught me out of the shadowy certainty of drowning.

The stranger pulled me ashore. I stared numbly into his glowering face.

"Girl, are you well?" He demanded, inspecting my bare arms and legs for injury.

I could not remember how to speak.

The stranger growled, picking me up in his enormous, furry arms and carrying me through the darkening wood.

Beorn believes I was nine in human years when I fell into the dark, enchanted waters of the river flowing through the heart of Mirkwood. Other than this I have no memory of my life before he rescued me from a watery grave.


	2. Cub

_My friends think I'm alone but I got secrets  
I don't tell everything about the love I get  
I got a loving man but he's a spirit  
He never does me pain, never treats me bad  
He never takes away all the love he has  
And I'm forgiven oh a million times._  
- "No Man's Woman", Sinead O'Connor -

I crouched in the brush beside the silvery waterfall. Peering down at the deep pool below, I watched a herd of deer tentatively approach the water's edge to drink. The sun was high and I could feel the sweat slide down between my shoulder blades and soak into the rough burlap of my tunic. I pushed the short fringe of bangs from my forehead as beads of perspiration began to gather at my hairline. Shifting my weight, I gripped my bow with both hands.

A strange, evil stench mingling with the scant breeze drifted up to where I perched. I knew that musk; dried blood, thick fur and hot breath. It was a warg. Only one from what I could tell, a rogue stupid enough to find itself on the land of Beorn. I stiffened my spine, moving along the rock into the shade. Retrieving an arrow from the quiver at my back, the dark form of the evil animal came into view as it stalked the trees behind the unsuspecting deer. The buck straightened up, its ears twitching as the warg moved down wind.

The warg must have sensed its prey growing wary. It leaped from the woods, stained fangs glistening with saliva and claws distended. Its growl turned to a whimper as my arrow sunk into the thick hide at its neck. The deer scattered, racing across the stream and kicking up the cool, fresh water in a frenzy of panic.

I traversed the ancient rock slide alongside the waterfall to where the warg lay bleeding on the damp, mossy ground. I pulled a hefty hunting knife from the sheath at my waist and cut the animal's throat swiftly.

A heavy hand fell on my shoulder nearly knocking me to the ground.

"Good work, Cub." Beorn bellowed, "Now let's see that the scoundrel stands as a warning."

Beorn helped me skin the creature and we nailed it's hide not far from the stream to a massive, half dead oak tree.

"That should keep the nasty beasts away for a spell." Beorn spit on the ground before the bloody, dripping skin.

Hitching my bow on my shoulder, I struggled to keep the pace with Beorn as we began to make our way home. The giant skin changer made the ground tremble with his footfall. I skirted beside him, my bare feet knowing the way by heart. It was a lovely thing to remember a path.

Even though it had been years since Beorn had fished me from the dark enchantment of the river, the residual effects of the spell were an everyday struggle for me. Some mornings, all I could recall was the bearded, half human face of my preserver. My loyalty and dependence on Beorn was my life blood. Though he was notorious for detesting the company of any other than his animals, he cared for me as if I were a wounded hare he found in the meadows surrounding our home.

Whatever I was before the river, I had become a thing as feral and skittish as a creature of the forest. My red gold hair had been shorn roughly to my shoulders and feet thickly calloused from years of going without shoes. With skin brown as the summer earth from standing in the sun for too long, a spray of freckles decorated my short nose underneath grey eyes.

Beorn had called me Cub since I had come to live at his lodge. And so that was what I had become; the skin changer's Cub.

* * *

**Author's Note: I was reading the chapter in the Hobbit about Beorn and got so excited about seeing him in the movie that I decided to satiate myself by writing a short fiction. This isn't going to be anything epic, but it's fun** (:


	3. Memory

I squatted up in the rafters of the lodge with my knees against my shoulders as I whittled at a piece of soft wood. The shape of a horse head was beginning to take form. Tugging the short blade towards me, I blinked away the cloud of smoke from the fire pit as it wafted towards me. The giant door banged against the wall as Beorn entered. He grumbled to himself, stomping towards the table. Throwing the load of freshly cut logs onto the floor, he tossed one into the heart of the flames. It spit embers onto him. He growled and rubbed at the thick covering of black hair covering his forearm.

I wondered how long it would be until darkness fell. Beorn was always ornery at the end of the day. A night stalking the woods for prey in his bear form with his clan would be good for him.

"Cub!" He roared.

I jumped from my perch, unwilling to keep him waiting while he was in one of his moods. Leaping to the ground, I tucked the little knife into the belt at my waist.

"Keep yerself to the lodge this night." He instructed, "I have gathered you plenty of wood. We have seen sign of goblins on the borders. Lock yourself in and do not open the door till I return at dawn, you hear me?"

I nodded silently. His face softened as he peered down at me. He reached out, ruffling my messy cap of hair with thick fingers.

"Why have they been venturing closer lately? The wargs and goblins?" I asked, sitting down at one of the huge benches by our supper table and swinging my legs absently.

He knelt to the ground, stacking the logs neatly beside the granite fire pit.

"I cannot tell you, Cub." His booming voice turned suddenly contemplative, "But fear not, we will drive them away soon enough."

I barred the door as soon as Beorn left, pulling the huge plank across the entrance and bolting the massive iron locks. Climbing up into the rafters, I tugged the one loose plank from the edge of the ceiling and shimmied up onto the roof of the lodge. Bats flitting across the violet grey sky to the west. Night had fully descended upon the eastern forest but I could still make out the forms of the bears gathering under the trees heavy with early summer. They swayed with blood lust as the largest of them rose up on his hind legs. Immediately, I knew it was Beorn. He let out a bone jarring roar before hitting the ground, causing the birds in the branches above to scatter against the appearing stars. The bears sped off through the forest, letting out chilling snarls that echoed across the land.

I tucked my feet under me and laid my cheek on my knee. Closing my eyes, my usual numbness was interrupted as a blinding memory rushed back to me. It happened from time to time and always left me breathless. This time I was looking across a broad, desolate field towards a solitary peak, as black as death against the bright white horizon. Gasping, the memory left as quickly as it had come. I opened my eyes, blinking into the night.

Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the unearthly scream of a hunted goblin. I shivered and edged towards the loose board. It had been a strange day and sleep felt like the only remedy to forget the unease settling in my belly.


	4. Strangers

After stirring near dawn, when a very human pounding came at the door, I let a more relaxed Beorn into the lodge. I crawled into my blankets and fell asleep once again.

The sound of Beorn chopping wood out in the sandy yard roused me a few hours later. Listening with my eyes closed to the steady thump of his axe, my heart skipped a beat as I heard the murmur of foreign voices begin to rise. I woke fully, sitting up and straining to hear if I was correct.

Beorn very rarely had visitors.

Swinging my legs over the side of the trundle bed I had slept in for the past eight years, I tugged my tunic over my head. The ragged hem hung down to my bruised knees. After belting it at the waist, I tip toed through the lodge, now golden with the morning sun.

I paused by the shadow of the door, peeking out into the bright yard. Beorn stood, imposing with his axe resting across his broad shoulders and boot up on the stump of a felled tree. A stranger stood before him, grey clad with a long, bushy beard and a tall hat upon his silver head. Beside him stood a much smaller figure. The little man had bare feet covered with hair. I squinted, cocking my head to the side as I studied them. However, I was loathe to emerge from behind the door.

Beorn did not question nor try to amend my distaste for visitors that were not creatures of the wood. I was an oddity and I knew it. Unable to explain myself very well, I preferred to remain out of sight until they left. Puzzled but unwilling to explore the mystery further, I turned and skirted down the hall towards the back entrance. Creeping out into the wood, I decided it would be best if I remained in the forest until the coast was clear.

I picked my way through the trees, reveling in the quiet morning and trying not to think of the guests at the lodge. I caught an unknown scent on the breeze. It was not animal, but something altogether unique. I did not know the proper words for it. Spotting a nearby tree with decent branches, I scuttled up into the foliage and quieted my breathing as the sound of approaching voices disturbed the peace of the wood.

* * *

_Fili kept a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his senses on edge in the strange forest. It had been a very long and trying past couple days since being rescued from certain death by the giant eagles. This land was altogether wilder than he could have imagined._

_Before leaving Ered Luin, he and his brother had had such ambitions of racing victoriously towards the Lonely Mountain where they would fight an epic battle with the dragon Smaug. They had not expected the obstacles the party had so far encountered._

_He ran a hand over his braided beard, Kili jumping at the sound of a pine cone falling to the forest floor before him. Fili chuckled at his younger brother._

_"What?" Kili demanded, his cheeks turning red._

_"Be careful of those pine cones, Kili." Fili jibed, "You never know when they'll turn on you."_

_Fili laughed softly in his own way, shaking his head as Kili scowled and turned his eyes back on the path. Fili glanced up into the branches absently and stopped hard in his tracks, his heart pounding in his barreled chest. There was a face and a pair of eyes studying them as inquisitively as a child from high in the greenery. He met the gaze, his breath catching in his throat. It was a girl, probably human. The breeze picked up, her shorn hair the color of autumn fires brushing before her face. However, her sharp gaze remained trained on him._

_"What is it?" Kili's voice broke him from his trance._

_Fili glanced back his brother, his jaw falling slightly ajar._

_"I thought-" He looked back to find the branches of the tree absent with no girl in sight, "I thought I saw someone in the trees."_

_Kili took his bow before him, pulling an arrow from the quiver at his back._

_"Let's keep going. Gandalf said to wait a few moments and it's been more than that." Kili strung the bow, studying the wood, "I can't wait till we can get to the mountains again and leave these woods."_

* * *

I watched the figures of the two strange men disappear towards the lodge. Unable to move before the one with hair the color of straw caught sight of me, I quickly jumped to the next branch when he turned towards his darker companion for a moment. However, I was left trembling from the moment. The only contact I had had since I was a child was with Beorn which, despite all his virtues, wasn't saying much.

The branch I was on groaned under my weight. As softly as possible, I dropped to the ground and followed the two new strangers.


	5. Song

I was surprised to see that a little crowd had gathered in the yard. Sneaking into the hall and hiding behind the giant door once more, I watched with growing interest as Beorn listened entranced by the story that the tall stranger told. More and more of the strange shorter men arrived two by two out of the wood. The pair I had seen in the wood were present, studying the storyteller with interest. Some of the guests seemed nervous, eyeing our animals and the bees that lazily drifted in from their hives in the pastures behind our lodge.

I bit my lip and shifted my weight on my heels as the leader brought his tale to a close. Honestly, I had become so drawn in by the telling of it as well that I had not noticed that the group had grown to fifteen persons and the sun had started to set behind the hills. They had come through fire and fell creatures to stand where they were now. It was more than I could imagine in the wide world outside our forest.

"A very good tale!" Beorn declared, stirring me from the spell, "The best I have heard for a long while. If all beggars could tell such a good one, they might find me kinder. You may be making it all up, of course, but you deserve a supper for the story all the same. Let's have something to eat!"

My heart jumped to my throat at the realization that all those men were coming into our quiet hall at once. It was something I had never seen before. I grew panicked like a cornered doe. Racing back to the little room Beorn had built for me, I closed the door to the sounds of tramping boots invading our home. Soon Beorn called the ponies and dogs in to bring the torches to light the hall. I could hear the astonished voices of the visitors as they watched the animals ready the table for a meal. Sitting down on the rough boarded floor, I wrapped my arms around my legs and tried to keep myself from panicking any further. Resting my head on my knees, I closed my eyes.

It was pitch dark when I opened them again. I was surprised to find I had fallen asleep. The commotion out the hall had quieted. By this hour, Beorn would have left for the wood, leaving me alone with his guests. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as the low rumbling of voices combined in a way I had never heard trailed under the door of my room.

The visitors were singing.

I stood, my back and legs stiff from being in such an odd position for so long. Gently pushing the door ajar, I peered out into the hall lit only by the fire at the center of the room. A few of the strangers were seated around the welcoming glow, clouds of pipe smoke covering their heads like clouds in the mountains. I spied the characters I had seen in the wood. The one that had spotted me was sitting on the long table, his feet up on the bench before him. He was bent over his knees, chewing the end of his pipe thoughtfully as his comrades sang mournfully. The sound of their voices bit straight through my heart, stirring something that had lain dormant for years.

"It passed the lonely Mountain bare  
and swept above the dragon's lair:  
there black and dark lay boulders stark  
and flying smoke was in the air."

I focused on the words of that verse, my eyelids drifting shut. Some of them did not make sense to me, but images materialized behind my eyes. The spell over my memory lifted momentarily. I could see a small settlement of men, a village before a large, dark mountain. I was little, being lifted onto the broad shoulders of a man. I had felt safe.

Their voices faded out, the moment and memory passing into the dark. I opened my eyes and looked out on the warmly lit room. I glanced over once more at the golden haired stranger. Gasping slightly, I found his eyes on me in the shadowed end of the room where I peeked from behind my door. He squinted, taking the pipe from his mouth as he studied me. I shut the door, resting with my back against the frame. I held my breath, waiting for him to come investigate. He never did.

After a few moments, all movement out in the hall ceased as the strangers bedded down for the night. Bolting my door, I curled underneath my scratchy blanket, my mind racing. It was several hours before I fell into a restless sleep.

Dawn came soon enough.

I could hear the lark out in the pastures where the bees dwelt. Perhaps I could make it out into the wood before I was noticed. The only one of the strangers who saw me might conclude that I had merely been a figment of his heightened imagination in a strange land. I unbolted the door and peered out into the hall. The smoke from the fire drifted in a single, silver ribbon from the bed of embers. I could hear snoring and heavy breathing. Deciding to take the chance, I tip toed out and past the sleeping bodies of the party.

* * *

_Fili turned in his short cot, trying to block out the irregular snores of Bombur where he was splayed out beside him. He rubbed his eyes, glaring up into the rafters of the hall. He had passed a disquiet night, despite how weary he felt. _

_He swore he had seen the same ghostly figure of the girl-woman in the shadows of the hall that he had spied above in the oak branches of the wood. She had been peering from behind a door. In the darkness, he had been unable to clearly make out her features. However, it was the same wide eyed, unblinking gaze of a child in the mature face of a grown woman. He half wondered if the strain of the past few days was getting to him, playing tricks with his mind._

_Fili turned fitfully, laying his head on his arm as he trained his eyes on the corner where he had seen her. He held his breath as he watched in surprise as the secreted door opened into the hall. The girl emerged. He blinked, his glass green eyes studying her as she spirited herself silently across the hall. None of his kinsmen stirred. She disappeared out into the white, pink dawn._

_He sat up out of bed. Tugging his heavy leather overcoat over his shirt sleeves and stepping into his boots, he did his best to quietly make his way towards the door. Bofur grumbled as he passed his cot. Fili froze, unwilling to explain to anyone where he was going. _

_He just wanted to make sure that she was real._


	6. Pasture

**Author's Note: LalaithElerrina, thank you so much for your sweet reviews! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story. And I agree! Beorn is the best dad ever. I hope you enjoy Cub and Fili's first meeting**!

* * *

_Fili ventured out into the quiet yard. Dawn had broken across the eastern sky, the larks and thrushes beckoning in the new day as they flickered across the wood. Throwing the sides of his coat aside, he hitched his thumbs in his belt casually. The area was deserted except for Beorn's sheep that were venturing towards the pastures beyond the lodges to graze for the day._

_Perhaps the delirium of the past few days had been playing tricks on his mind._

_Deciding to take one last look to make sure, Fili followed the lowing herd of shaggy animals out towards the broad meadow before the oak forest. A sun shower abruptly broke the peace of the morning as he surveyed the pasture. A few errant raindrops caught the sunlight as they scattered across the few fat hives. The large bees danced in the tall grass. Unlike the few others in the party, Fili had never been wary of honey bees. He strode across the pasture, curious to see how Beorn had constructed the hives._

_He blinked and paused in his tracks._

_Through the bright sunlight and misty raindrops, a girl popped up from the high grass where she had been crouching. Fili stood stock still. He felt as though he had come upon a doe or vixen and the slightest movement would send her disappearing into the ancient wood. He studied her, her back half turned towards him. She held a hare in one arm. A bee flitted between the fingers of her other uplifted hand. A smile played at her mouth._

_She lifted the tip of her slightly upturned nose into the air as she caught a scent in the air. Fili suddenly realized that he was standing upwind. The nymph had sensed him like a hart in the forest. The girl turned her eyes toward the lodge where he stood._

_Her eyes widened as she studied him in the broad light. He lifted his hands and nodded tentatively, barely risking to breathe. Fili dared take a step forward, not breaking eye contact with her. She slowly turned her body towards him._

_Fili took her in as he approached gingerly. Messy curls of red gold hair fell to her shoulders and bordered her forehead in a rough bang. She wore a strange tunic of the same ruddy material as the one Beorn possessed with the sleeves cut off to reveal thin, sun browned arms. At her waist was a thick, cloth belt from which hung two different hunting knives. Her full lips parted slightly, revealing prominent front teeth. He guessed she was human._

_She looked poised to race away but something seemed to hold her there as she watched him draw closer. Her eyes were as inquisitive as those of a child._

_"Hullo…" He spoke gently, "What are you then?"_

_He stopped a few feet away. The grey hare in her arms squirmed. She let it loose to the ground, her eyes never leaving him as she did. He held as his breath once more as she walked towards him through the tall grass, the bees lazily drifting around her head in the morning light. Fili was surprised as she stopped within arm's length of him. She would not be considered beautiful in the society of men, but her countenance held a wildly intriguing element of its own. She was ethereal, as though she had lived her whole life under a spell._

_"Beorn calls me Cub." She spoke quietly, her wide grey green eyes taking in the whole frame of him, "What are you?"_

_"Fili," He replied._

_"A Fili?" She repeated, smirking slightly._

_"Fili is my name." He replied patiently, "I am a dwarf."_

_A strange look passed over her face as he spoke those words. Her eyes grew distant and her mouth pursed into a line. She reached out. He didn't move as she took the ends of one of his braids in her fingers, looking at the intricately designed metal clasp that held it._

_"Dwarf." She whispered._

_A loud bellow broke across the pasture, causing the birds in the trees to scatter and the sheep to race out of the way. Beorn came marching across the pasture, his giant arms stiff at his sides and hands clasped into fists._

_"Cub!" He roared, approaching them where they stood._

_Fili felt his pulse quicken as he swiftly pulled away from the girl's touch. Though Beorn seemed to be calling the girl, his deadly gaze was fixed on him. Fili held out his hands as though to protest his innocence._

_"There is breakfast readied at the lodge, master dwarf." Beorn growled as he came closer._

_Beorn protectively took his place between Fili and Cub, towering over the dwarf and glaring down at him. Fili backed away slowly, bowing his head in submission._

_"I thank you, good sir." He groveled, praying the second skin simmering beneath the giant's human one would remain out of sight, "At your service."_

_Beorn kept his eyes on Fili as he retreated. Fili never turned his back on the skin changer until he was a good distance away. Before he did, Fili glanced up once more to see the girl named Cub peeking at him from behind Beorn, studying him with her entrancing doe eyes._

* * *

I watched the stranger leave the pasture from behind Beorn's wide girth. My heart beat hard, blood pounding in my ears. I blinked, the memory of a time ago retreating as quickly as it had come like the earlier sun shower. A dwarf. The word held so much and still meant so little to me. I was loathe to let him out of my sight as the memory went with him.

However, I could sense the displeasure radiating off of Beorn. Even the bees had hid in their hives.

"Cub, what was he doing here?" Beorn demanded turning towards me.

I looked up into his face, "He followed me."

Beorn grimaced, "Don't be fraternizing with these guests unless I'm present. Dwarves are not my favorite of creatures."

"What is wrong with them?"

"Greedy, grasping beasts that dig into mountains deeper than they should." Beorn growled.

"He reminded me of something."

Beorn paused, his expression changing as I spoke, "A memory?"

"Yes," My eyes trained themselves on the horizon as I struggled to conjure the recollection, "A dwarf."

Beorn shifted his weight and laid a hand on my shoulder, "Still the same, Cub. Keep your wits about you best you can. You know nothing of the outside world. It would be best if you saw as little as possible of these travelers that you could."

"May I come to breakfast at the lodge?"

Beorn grimaced, "I suppose. But remember what I said."

I nodded, patting his hand with a smile, "I will."

Beorn's face broke into a rare smile, "Dear one, I only fear for your well-being."

"I know, Beorn."


	7. Breakfast

I approached the lodge, Beorn clicking the gate behind us as we made our way through the yard. The company was busy devouring the breakfast that the animals had laid out for them. I suddenly felt intimidated coming upon such a rowdy crowd. Instinctively, I grasped Beorn's forearm as the dwarves turned their attention on us. Beorn patted my hand encouragingly.

I noticed the dwarf Fili standing off to the side, his boot perched on one of the rungs of the wooden railing. He studied me quietly, his eyes never leaving me as we climbed the steps. The tallest of the strangers stepped forth. He eyed me from underneath bushy brows. I looked down at my feet, hiding as best as I could behind Beorn's giant arm.

"Now who is this?" The stranger questioned, a cloud of pipe smoke drifting around his head.

"This is Cub." Beorn replied protectively.

"Just another creature you found in the wood, I trust?"

Beorn chuckled, his laughter rolling like steady stones in a landslide, "I suppose you could say so."

The stranger knelt to my level, propping the rim of his hat back with a gnarled finger that looked more like a tree root, "What is your story, child?"

I met his gaze, unsure of how to respond.

"This one has been under an enchantment." He stated, speaking more to Beorn than myself.

"Fell into the black river as a pup," Beorn explained, "Forgetfulness clouds her mind."

The stranger nodded, not taking his eyes from me, "But her memory is not altogether lost, I trust."

Beorn shook his head silently.

"I am called Gandalf." The stranger held out a hand as though he expected me to take it.

I glanced up towards Beorn who jutted out his chin, "Go on then."

Tentatively, I took the stranger's warm, dry fingers in mine and squeezed them briefly. Gandalf smiled gently.

"What are you called then, little one?"

"Beorn has called me Cub." I replied, becoming very aware of the eyes of the dwarves on me.

"Go get yourself some breakfast, Cub." Beorn released my hand much to my chagrin, "I'll be right here."

I obeyed, giving Beorn one last glanced before he separated for a private conversation with Gandalf.

* * *

"_So you say the black river in Mirkwood?" Gandalf asked, eyeing Cub as she ascended the steps towards the breakfast table._

_The dwarves parted as she walked past them, eyeing her as though she were as odd to them as Beorn's serving dogs and horses. He feared tact would never be a quality possessed by any dwarf ever. His heart lightened as he noticed Fili coming forth and preparing a plate for her without being prompted. He was amused to see the young dwarf prince glance nervously over his shoulder at Beorn. The Skin Changer snarled lightly but turned his attention back to the wizard._

"_Yes, she was not yet ten in human years." Beorn explained, running a hand over his beard, "She has been my ward for almost a decade. However, to this day, she knows nothing of her life before she came to live with me."_

_Gandalf nodded contemplatively, "Recovering her memory is not the difficult part. I know the words that would break that foul enchantment once and for all. However, whether the girl would remain here or seek out what remains of her life before is not certain."_

_Beorn nodded, his eyes drifting over to Cub once more as she seated herself on the steps beside Fili. The dwarf's younger, darker brother joined them. He seemed to say something humorous at which Fili laughed. Though she clearly did not understand the joke and did not smile in return, Beorn could tell Cub was becoming more relaxed. She studied them with wide grey green eyes. The thought that she could leave his side bit through his heart. _

"_It would be wrong of me to deny the girl a chance to discover her past." Beorn admitted, his throat tightening slightly, "She deserves a full life free of the spell's hold. This may be her only chance at it."_

_Gandalf nodded, clapping a hand on Beorn's massive shoulder, "She may yet decide she's better off not knowing. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I know who she was before she became your Cub."_

_Beorn turned his fierce golden eyes on the wizard, "You think you may know her kin?"_

_Gandalf's gaze flickered back and forth between the girl and her adoptive father as he puffed on his pipe thoughtfully. _

"_Perhaps. We shall see."_

* * *

Nibbling at the piece of honeyed toast, I watched the dwarf called Fili and his brother Kili engage in easy conversation. These dwarves were quick to laugh, much like larks at dawn. I felt reluctant to try and contribute to their words, certain I would stumble over my own and embarrass myself further. It was enough with their companions staring at me as though I were a talking dog.

Fili sensed my hesitancy, "You must know these woods well."

"Yes." I replied, unsure of how to expound on such an obvious answer.

"Do wargs and goblins venture often into these lands, like those two?" He indicated towards the goblin head and warg skin Beorn had strung up not far away. He hunted them down the night before and set up their hides as warnings.

"More recently."

"Have you killed a warg?" Kili asked, setting the plate aside and putting all his focus on me.

I shifted under his intense gaze, feeling uncomfortable being the center of attention, "Yes."

Kili passed a look to Fili, arching a brow. I could tell he wasn't sure if he believed me or not. Fili grinned quietly, eyeing me with a fascination that made me feel more human than an oddity.

"Follow me then." I responded simply, standing.

Without waiting, I marched across the yard. Glancing over my shoulder at the gate, Fili and Kili jogged to catch up with me.

"Stay close," I instructed, "The paths are easy to lose and difficult to find again."


	8. Waterfall

_Fili did his best to keep up with the fleet footed girl. Swift as a spirit, she traversed the complicated paths of the oak forest alive with summer and midmorning. He could hear Kili struggling behind him to keep up._

_"Where is the nymph leading us?" He gasped, tripping over a root and catching himself in time._

_"I have no idea." Fili replied, keeping his eyes trained on her lithe form as not to lose her in the maze of giant oak trees._

_Cub paused without looking back at them. Fili could hear the cool rush of water nearby as he reached her. He doubled over. Resting his hands on his knees, he looked up at her trying to catch his breath._

_"Down this way," She instructed, throwing him an unexpected grin and disappearing in the brush._

_The corner of Fili's mouth lifted slightly as he looked back at his brother. Kili lifted a brow, nodding his head in her direction._

_"After you, sir." He commented wryly, gasping as well._

_Fili crashed through the bushes much less deftly than his guide had. He pushed a pine branch away from his face, sputtering as he came out of the foliage. A hand slapped against his chest fiercely, keeping him from taking another step forward. He realized they were on the edge of a precipice looking over a waterfall. Cub stood parallel to him against a stone wall. She pulled her hand away with a grin._

_"Make sure your brother doesn't fall." She instructed, edging her way along the thin ledge._

_Kili nearly ran into Fili, almost sending them tumbling down the steep cliff into the rocky pool below._

_"Didn't see this one coming." Kili stated, pushing his hair away from his face._

_Fili laughed, "I think that was her intention."_

_They followed, keeping to the stone wall. The temperature was starting to rise as the sun was climbing into the white blue sky overhead. There was no breeze. Under his heavy layers, Fili could feel the sweat gathering at the base of his spine. He wiped the pearls of perspiration gathering on his forehead away. Looking ahead, he could see the girl. She was crouched at the crown of a rock slide, looking down at the forest below._

_"There!" She cried over the rush of the water, "See? At the border?"_

_Fili reached her, standing over her and peering down at the forest. Sure enough, there hung a nasty warg hide stuck to the bark of the dead tree by a layer of dried blood._

_"Kili, look!" Fili shouted as Kili reached them._

_Kili shook his head and chuckled, "Looks fresh."_

_"Yesterday." Cub replied, rising to her feet with a rare smile._

_Fili studied her as she grinned, finding himself more intrigued by Cub the more he was around her. Cub glanced over at him, her mouth tightening into a line as she noticed his attention. A blush crept over her tanned neck and cheeks. Before he could speak, she untied her belt where her hunting knives dangled._

_"What-"_

_He did not have a chance to finish his sentence as she leaped from the perch, diving headfirst into the deep pool. Kili let out a surprised bark. Fili dropped to a knee, staring at the water's surface. Cub burst from the surface with a gasp, shaking the water from her curls like a dog. She let out a lilting, clear bell of a laugh._

_"What are you waiting for brother?" Kili demanded, shucking off his heavy leather coat and tossing his boots to the side._

_Without hesitation, Kili jumped in a tight ball over the side of the waterfall. His holler echoed up the ravine as he crashed into the pool. _

_Cub bobbed up and down in the water, gazing up at Fili. Wordlessly, she lifted a small hand towards him, beckoning him to join them. With a wry grin, he shook his head and roughly pulled his coat from his broad shoulders._

_Holding his breath, he stepped out into the extraordinary, beguiling expanse of her world._

* * *

I watched the dwarf called Fili step off the cliff above me, dropping feet first into the water. His coarse, braided curls flew up behind him as he sliced through the surface right beneath the falls. His brother let out a whoop of excitement, thrusting a fist into the air.

Keeping my eyes on the place where Fili had dove, I waited for him to emerge. However, it seemed to take a very long time. I sense Kili shift uneasily as he tread water behind me. Suddenly a figure popped up from the water a hand's breadth from me. I gasped as Fili spit a mouthful of water into my face followed by a wry grin.


	9. Goblin

Kili was inspecting the warg skin, muddying the sod where he stood with river water. I had pulled myself onto a half-submerged boulder on the shore, sitting with the water lapping at my torso. Pulling one leg up and curling it under the other as it dangled in the water, I ran my fingers across the ripples. Fili swam over on his back, his glass green eyes studying the clear sky overhead.

"So you have no memory of anything before you came to live with Beorn?" He asked, floating belly up without looking at me.

"Sometimes things come in flashes." I replied, running a hand through my damp hair, "Visions."

"Did you have one this morning when we first met?" He asked, flipping himself over and swimming to my rock.

"A little." I replied, not meeting his gaze as he rested his arms on the granite surface beside me.

"Did it happen when I told you I was a dwarf?"

I dared glance over, not sure of how I felt with him this close asking such questions. Beorn's warnings resounded in my mind. By all counts, I had broken my promise to him by running off into the woods alone with the dwarf youths. I tried not to think about that.

"Yes," I replied, bringing an index finger to my mouth and chewing at a torn nail.

"What did you see?"

Fili's calm gaze, as simple as a pool of rainwater, took me in steadily. The ends of his hair rose and fell in the water like river weeds, swirling around his sturdy shoulders sculpted by his soaked grey shirt sleeves. I looked away, wary of how to interpret my own interest in the dwarf.

"I saw your people, a few of them at least." I replied, "I had seen them before sometimes in my dreams but never that vividly. And I never knew what they were till now."

I met his eyes once more, my breath catching in my throat in an odd way I had never experienced.

"Fili!" Kili hollered rushing into the clearing, "We had better be off. There is still sign of warg in this area."

"I thought Beorn had taken care of that problem last night." Fili replied, pulling himself out of the water next to me.

"I did as well, maybe he missed a few."

I looked up at the precipice where I had stupidly left my knives. I wondered if the dwarves had even had a chance to bring their own blades before we raced off into the wood. I burst from the water and scrambled up the rock slide. Reaching the top first, I strapped my belt around my waist tightly and tossed my dripping curls from my face.

"Did you bring any weapons?" I asked Fili directly as he came up behind me, his shirt hanging loosely.

He shrugged, turning to his boots and pulling a short knife from a sheath hidden in one, "This is about it."

"We must be swift then." I answered.

"We know that's not a difficult thing for you, Cub." Kili said with a grin.

My brow creased as I studied him. These dwarves were either moronic or stupidly confident to jest in the face of a possible warg attack. Without a word, I started down the path clutching the hilt of the largest knife I had with me.

* * *

_Fili studied her back as he followed her through the brush and out onto the forest path. Pulling his coat over his wet shirt, the air felt stale with humidity once again. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on the situation on hand but was loathe to admit that he could not tear his eyes away from the gentle curve of her waist where her damp tunic clung to her hips. Running a hand over his face, he gripped the knife's hilt tightly._

_It had been too many weeks strictly in the company of his rough traveling party. Though she was hardly feminine in the traditional sense of the word, Cub was definitely, and most distractedly, a young woman. She was like nothing that he had ever seen before and he wasn't quite sure what he felt about only having a short time to get to know her. _

_She halted, her nose to the air._

_"It isn't warg," She breathed, unsheathing her knife, "Goblin."_

_The dwarves turned outwards, their eyes wide on the woods._

_"Kili," She whispered._

_The dark dwarf looked over just in time as she tossed him her extra knife. He caught it by the flat end of the blade and flipped it around in his hand._

_"I don't believe it has sensed us yet." She breathed, "Quickly."_

_She turned to a nearby tree and scuttled up the branches. Kili and Fili followed suit, swinging themselves up into the thick foliage. Fili looked up to see her crouching on a thin branch. Clenching the knife blade between her teeth, Cub rose with her feet balanced one in front of the other and her hands clutching branches over her. At the moment, she could not have looked wilder, her curls messy with dead leaves, her eyes alert to the forest floor below like a hawk. His breath caught in his throat at the sight._

_A rustling came down the path they had just been on. The hunched, dark figure of a sniveling goblin passed underneath. Fili held his breath. Without warning, Cub quietly danced from branch to branch to the forest floor right behind the creature. Kili looked up at Fili in confusion and fear. Stiffening his jaw, Fili let himself drop to the forest floor. The silly girl might be impressive in a tree top but she was going to get herself killed._

_He chased after her down the path where she had followed the fell creature. Coming around a corner, he stopped short in the route. His mouth dropped slightly._

_Fili had come upon the scene as Cub pulled the wiry creature's head back and before it could scream, tore her blade across its throat. Black blood spurted into the air as she let it drop to the ground. He stood shocked into silence as she wiped her blade clean on a patch of tall grass next to the convulsing body of the goblin. Sheathing it at her waist, she turned towards him. Kili came up behind him, looking on the picture in as much surprise as he also felt._

_"You know, we could really use her in our company." Kili commented lamely, blinking at Cub in the golden afternoon sunlight._

* * *

__**Author's Note: Ok just a silly observation, but the more I'm writing this, the more I'm finding inspiration from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Seriously! Beorn is Prospero, Cub is Miranda and Fili is Ferdinand! Actually, I fashioned how Cub looks after Felicity Jones as Miranda in Julie Taymor's recent production of "The Tempest". Anyway, thanks for the sweet reviews! They are always so very appreciated! **


	10. Name

I eyed the stranger called Gandalf as Beorn led me into the lodge. The dwarves were readying themselves to leave outside in the sunny yard. I was surprised to find myself wishing they could have stayed longer. Gandalf sat at the long table, his bright eyes studying the low burning fire at the center hearth contemplatively.

"Mr. Gandalf." Beorn boomed, coaxing me along with a hand at my back.

"Ah! Beorn," Gandalf broke from his meditation and smiled broadly, "Cub."

"Would you explain what we spoke of earlier to Cub?"

Beorn sat me down facing Gandalf then took his own place directly across from us. I shifted uncomfortably under the stranger's straightforward gaze.

"Cub, Beorn tells me that you have occasional moments where you recall your life before you fell into the river." Gandalf began gently, taking my hand in his, "Can you tell me of them?"

I looked over at Beorn who nodded, his expression grave. Closing my eyes, I struggled to put the images that occasionally danced through my head into words. However, my recollection was foggy as ever.

"Are there people in these visions?" Gandalf cajoled gently.

"A - a man," I stuttered, "He is big. I cannot see his face because he puts me on his shoulders. I am very little."

"Where are you?"

"There is bright light, a reflection like off of glass or metal… maybe water. Yes it is water, because the light ripples a little." I paused, "There are men and stocky figures of dwarves. There are also tall, slender folk, fair of face."

I opened my eyes, shrugging slightly. Gandalf was squinting, studying my face as though seeking some clue to the mystery.

"Cub, what if I told you that there is a chance you could reclaim your memories?" He asked gently.

"But-" I stammered, looking to Beorn, "How would that be possible?"

"Cub, it matters not how," Beorn spoke, "If you could remember your life before I found you, if you had the choice, would it be something you would want?"

I was dumbstruck. Such a possibility never seemed feasible to me. I had resigned myself years before to an existence much like the animals Beorn housed on the farm; happy, cared for and yet ignorant to the world and their place in it. The chance to know who I was before I became Beorn's Cub was never a dream I entertained. However, looking into the face of my foster father, I knew that if I did follow such a path, our life together would never be the same.

"Cub," Beorn came around the table and knelt by my chair, "Child, you will always be welcome here with me. But I could never have imagined a better chance for you. When I fished you out of that nasty river like a lost otter pup, I knew that whatever your life had been was lost. I thought it could never be recovered. If you desire it, take this chance with both hands." He laid his massive fingers on my forearm gently, "Take it with my full blessing."

I blinked, my chin beginning to tremble. I could feel my throat choking up. Rolling my eyes towards the ceiling to keep the tears at bay, I took a deep breath.

"I don't know when I shall be back this way, Cub." Gandalf said carefully, "This would be your one chance for quite some time."

I turned my eyes on the grey clad wanderer once more. Wetting my lips, I found I could not speak. I merely nodded.

"Once this happens, it cannot be undone. Do you understand, Cub?" Gandalf queried further.

"Yes," I replied, choking back a sob, "I understand."

Gandalf lifted his hands, pulling his long sleeves back. Beorn took one of my hands in his own massive palm, patting the back of it.

"I'm going to need you to close your eyes." Gandalf instructed, pressing his fingers to my forehead while cradling my cheek in his other hand, "Don't be afraid, child."

"She's never been afraid." Beorn murmured, his voice cracking slightly.

* * *

_It was well past noon day, though the evening had still yet to fall. The ponies Beorn had lent to the company shifted impatiently, munching on the tall weeds through the cracks in the gate. Kili sat in the grass, filling the bowl of his pipe. He glanced up briefly at his brother. Fili was leaning against the rough fence post, his arms crossed over his chest. He had his gaze fixed on the lodge where Beorn and Cub had disappeared the moment they had returned from the wood._

_"I should like to bid Cub farewell." Kili ventured, knowing his brother would never voice his thoughts on such a subject, "You should go make sure she hasn't spirited into the forest again."_

_Fili looked over at his brother. Kili winked at him. Shaking his head with a smirk, Fili righted himself._

_"Perhaps I should, brother." Fili replied, striding across the yard._

_Kili chuckled to himself, lighting his pipe. Though he was closer to his older brother than any other in Middle Earth, Fili was unpredictable. She was pretty in an odd sort of way, but Kili would never have felt attracted to such a wild thing as Cub. However, he could tell right off that Fili was struck by her. He really should have known better. Fili had never pursued any interest in the simple, ladylike girls of Ered Luin, no matter their race. He had always known it would take something very special to catch his older brother's attention._

_Fili paused at the steps, listening to the mumbling voices of Gandalf and Beorn inside. He wondered if Cub was even about. Slightly disappointed as the prospect that she had left without saying good bye, he mounted the steps. He hitched in thumbs in his belt and peeked in through the massive doors that had been left ajar. He smiled absently at seeing that Cub sat with the wizard and her guardian._

_He pushed the door open, the hinges creaking. However none of them looked over. He saw that Gandalf had placed his hands over Cub's forehead. The wizard seemed to be muttering something as he let his palm drop over her closed eyes. Fili's forehead creased as he watched in silence._

_Gandalf removed his hands. Cub's eyes were still shut, her lips parted as she swayed in her chair. Beorn gripped her hand._

_"What is your name?" Gandalf's voice was commanding as he spoke, "Tell me your name."_

_Cub wet her lips, her breath coming hard now. Her breast rose and fell sharply with each intake._

_"What is your name?" He repeated again._

_She breathed a word that Fili could not hear. Intrigued by what he now realized was Gandalf breaking the spell over her memory, Fili ventured further into the room. His arms fell at his sides as he studied her face._

_"Rose." He clearly heard her speak._

_Cub's eyelids fluttered open, her vision clear in a way he had not seen since meeting her._

_"Briar Rose." She answered firmly, "That is my name."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Pardon the fairy tale nod by giving Cub's real name as Briar Rose, but I felt that Sleeping Beauty's alias would be appropriate for her. Thanks for the reviews! I stoked y'all like this one so much, its been a cool one to write!**


	11. Identity

I wrapped my arms tightly around my middle. The air was growing colder in the evenings with autumn drawing nigh. From my perch on the roof of the lodge, I had watched the company of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf disappear out of sight. The stars were beginning to shine out through the scant clouds overhead. There would be no moon this evening.

I pulled my legs up, resting my head against my knees. The world was so clear to me, it was frightening.

Gandalf had reassured me that things would soon start to make sense. He suggested that I continue my normal routine while the memories that had been locked away for nearly a decade began to stir in my brain. However, I couldn't imagine how anything would feel normal again.

My skin almost tingled with identity. The person I had become struggled to comprehend who I had once been long ago.

I had a name. Briar Rose.

_Rosie._

Rosie was what my older cousin Bain had called me. It was Bain who had taught me to swim. A recollection as clear and stinging as shards of glass pierced my consciousness. I was bursting up through the calm surface of the lake. Beating the water with my fists and screaming for him to come fetch me to shore, Bain merely crouched on the dock a few feet away from where I floundered.

_Rosie, calm yourself. Kick your feet and push your hands out like this._

He had mimicked treading water, nodding to me encouragingly. I gasped but obeyed. Soon, I could feel my body becoming buoyant.

_There you see? Little Rosie, you were born for these waters._

These waters…the waters of Long Lake where Lake-town had been founded. I had been born in the great trading city of men where barrels of wine from the halls of Thranduil were peddled alongside dwarvish metal works.

_Rosie, see the mountain?_

I was picked up and perched on my Uncle's broad shoulders. His arms were sinewy with muscle from years of shooting his great yew bow. He was the descendant of Kings, but now a simple bowman of Lake-town. He had raised me alongside his own children after my mother's death. He was called Bard.

_That's where all the dwarves' gold is, Uncle? _

_Yes, Rosie_

_And the dragon._

_Yes, but Smaug has not been seen for many years._

_Smaug._

I shivered at the memory of stories told by firesides. Every child born in Lake-town had nightmares about the dragon who had blasted our ancestors to ash in the ancient city of Dale. We each envisioned him differently in our mind's eye, for none of my generation had ever seen the legendary fire-drake.

I rubbed my chilled, upper arms, shifting to turn my face towards the fading light in the west over the Carrock. This was my home for so many years. The thought that I had another somewhere out there to the east of the great forest was overwhelming. I knew the choice that lay before me. However, this territory was unfamiliar to me as forest paths on moonless nights.

Running my fingers through my curls, I abruptly scrambled down the roof as though to shake the invisible burden from my shoulders. Sliding down to the edge of the front of the lodge, I shimmied down one of the massive wooden columns to the ground.

Beorn stood watching the wood from the gate surrounding his home. I could see the dark outline of his massive frame leaning against the fence post.

"You aren't changing tonight?" I asked coming up alongside him.

"No," He responded wearily, "Not tonight, Cub."

I smiled to myself as I mounted the fence, sitting down on it as to face the lodge.

"Are you displeased with your choice to remember your past?" He asked directly not looking at me.

"I don't know yet." I replied, "It's all so new."

Beorn grunted, shifting his massive weight, "So, you are the niece of a Bowman from Lake-town?"

"Yes," I answered, "Gandalf said he had suspected that was who I was before he even broke the spell."

"My question is how did you become lost all alone in Mirkwood? You were a mere child." Beorn grumbled.

"Those details are foggy." I replied tentatively, "But I believe it had something to do with my father."

"I thought the bowman was your uncle?"

"Yes, but I had a father as well." I shifted uncomfortably, "From what I can remember, I believe my mother was unwed when she had me. She died in child birth. Her brother, Bard, took me in but never forgave my father."

Images of a hard face with a scraggly beard flashed in my mind. He had yellowed teeth and foul breath reeking of ale. I closed my eyes and shuddered.

"I think my mother's death drove him mad. Or at least to drink. Bard forbade me to see him, though I remember sometimes as a child, a strange man watching me from street corners or doorways. I did not know who he was until he took me from my home."

"Your Uncle let him bring you out into the wilderness?"

"I believe I was kidnapped." I struggled with my words as the memories began to flow like a river, "He said we were going to go beyond the mountains for a new life as a family. I don't know how I feel about my father to be honest; whether he was a bad man or just a broken one."

"Sounds broken to me, if misled." Beorn surmised, laying a hand on my shoulder, "Do you know what happened to him?"

I closed my eyes. There were thousands of glowing eyes in the depths of Mirkwood. My father waved a torch at them but it did no good. I was curled up against a tree, trying to be brave. He unsheathed his sword.

_Run! Run, Rose! _

I obeyed my father, busting through the thick underbrush. I tripped over a huge, unearthed root. I fell into deep water. However, I knew how to swim so I wasn't initially frightened. Then the sleepiness hit me like a boulder and my mind began to wander down passages with pleasant dreams. It's a wonder I didn't drown. The next thing I knew was Beorn's mighty hand fishing me out of the river at dawn.

"I believe he died." I answered carefully.

Beorn pushed himself away from the fence and held out a hand to me.

"Beorn," I began taking his hand, "You know I love you, no matter what happens."

I could barely make out Beorn's smile in the dim light as I launched myself onto the sod, "And I you, dear one."


	12. Forest

_Fili scanned the darkness with wide eyes. The Mirkwood was deeply shadowed in the day but as night fell, it became as black as the tunnels in the deepest parts of the earth. Absently, he waved his hand in front of his face. He saw nothing but felt the stale air stir around his thick fingers._

_He heard Bombur roll over in his sleep, nearly crushing Ori who gasped for breath before violently shoving away the obese dwarf. He would have chuckled, if the heaviness of the place did not weigh so on his heart. Glancing up toward the canopy, his heart lurched as bulbous, incandescent orbs appeared in the trees overhead; two by two like insect eyes._

_"I can't take this anymore."_

_He heard Gloin grumble._

_"What are you doing?" Fili hoarsely whispered, blindly turning in the direction of the older dwarf._

_The clacking sounds of a flint being struck came to his ears. A few sparks flew in the darkness as Gloin furiously worked for the damp wood to catch fire._

_"Gloin…" Fili looked out at the wood, strange yellow eyes blinking out of the darkness, "You know that is a bad idea."_

_"Be still." Gloin mumbled as a piece of wood caught the precious flame, lighting his weary face._

_The massive form of one of the bats of the forest swooped down from the tree overhead, brushing against Fili's head. Fili pulled one of his swords from his waist and waved it over his head, standing up. As the fire grew strength, more eyes began to glow in the gloom. The inky moths crept in from the canopy._

_"Gloin, put that out." Fili demanded, "It's doing more harm than good."_

_The stubborn dwarf ignored him, continuing to build up the fire. A shuffling came from the leaves overhead. The creature kept from the light of the fire, but Fili could make out the form of a monstrous, many legged being scuttling in the dark._

_"Gloin, stop being a bull headed oaf." Kili took his place by his brother, having awoken with the disturbance._

_Fili glanced over at his brother, his sharp eyes dilating in the rare light. Kili had strung his bow and was as alert as Fili felt. Fili gripped the hilt of his blade, unsheathing a second sword._

_"Gloin!" Thorin boomed as he awoke._

_There came a louder rustling from above as a host of the creatures occupying the trees moved closer. The dwarves held their breath, strands of what looked like web hanging inert in the stagnant air. Thorin wielded Orcrist as he strode over to his nephews. The whole company was awake by this point._

_"Kili…" Thorin nodded towards his youngest nephew._

_Kili readied his bow as a giant spider, the foul spawn of Ungoliant, began to descend from above in the weak firelight._

_An arrow flew through the dark, bright red feathers at its end trembling as the head sunk into the bulbous body of the insect. The creature let out a strange shriek before falling to the ground, only to be cloven in two by Orchrist. In the heat of the moment, Fili had been unaware of from which angle the arrow had flown. He glanced over at his brother to see he had not loosed his arrow._

_Thorin tore his sword from the mutilated body of the spider and strode the border of the clearing where they had camped for the night. Strange shadows played across the now silent wood, the eyes from earlier having retreated into the black. A few moths floated lamely, gravitating towards the light._

_An upright figure moved through the wood, walking steadily towards them. Without a word, the heirs of Durin readied themselves for whatever appeared in the light. Kili pulled back the string of his bow._

_"Wait!" Fili shouted, holding out a hand in the direction of his kin._

_Fili took a step forward towards the edge of the clearing. Ducking under a low hanging branch, Cub came into the light carrying her own lean bow. She seemed to stand straighter, her gaze more focused than it had been when they had first met in the house of Beorn. Despite the gloominess of their surroundings, Fili found himself breaking into a chuckle. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she eyed him._

_"Master Dwarf," She nodded, "How glad I am to have found you."_

_"And how glad we are that you are no goblin or other foul beastie of these woods, lass." Gloin shouted from behind them._

_"Gloin, put out that fire." Thorin grumbled, "We will speak in the morning, girl."_

* * *

I barely knew dawn had come, the forest remained bleak even during the day. The rustling of the dwarves nearby brought me around from a dreamless sleep. It was the first time since Gandalf had broken my long suffered enchantment that the faces of my family had not danced before my sleeping eyes.

Sitting up, I gazed around at the dwarves gathering their belongings. There was a certain slothfulness to their movements, as though they carried invisible burdens on their broad, strong bodies. Even the spry Kili dragged as he rolled up his sleeping pack.

"It's this place." Fili spoke.

I looked over to find him crouched, situating his weapons. He paused, resting his hands on his knees and peering up into the dark shadow of heavy foliage overhead.

"It has made weary even the hardiest of us." He nodded to a particularly burly member of the party, his tattooed arms crossed over his powerful chest, "Even Dwalin has been nearly bent over from the heaviness of this place."

"I am merely thankful to have found your company." I replied, glancing back over at him, "I promised Beorn I would make haste but the forest has slowed my journey."

"How did you find us in such a forbidden place?"

I shrugged, dragging myself to my feet, "In part it was blind luck. Also, you have seen what I learned from Beorn during my time with him."

Fili nodded contemplatively as he stood next to me. His gaze drifted over to where his Uncle stood. Thorin Oakenshield plodded the soggy ground towards us.

"I would speak with you, mistress Cub."

"Yes, m'lord." I answered, unwilling to correct the brooding dwarf King of my true name at the moment.

Fili pointedly lifted a brow to me before turning back to preparing his traveling things. Taking a deep breath, I brought myself to my full stature and followed Thorin.

"Well, what is your path, maid?" Thorin turned, his sharp gaze studying me in assessment.

"I make for Lake Town on the other side of the forest." I said succinctly, "I seek my family."

Thorin pursed his mouth, his eyes softening, "I remember. Gandalf mentioned that your memory was restored to you after our departure."

"Yes, m'lord." I answered, "Where is the wizard, if I may ask?"

"He has taken another path for now. We parted ways before entered the Mirkwood."

"My lord, I entreat a favor of you to allow me to travel with your company to the other edge of the wood. You have seen the dangers of this part of the world."

Thorin paused, pacing slightly towards the company with his eyes to the ground and his large, capable hands at his back. His dark brow was furrowed in thought.

"Beorn requested that I find your company." I dared mentioning, averting my gaze if such a declaration were too bold.

The dwarf king halted. I looked up to find him studying me in with quiet amusement.

"Trying to guilt me into acquiesce, maid?"

"No, I did not mean-"

"You are fortunate I have already heard of your prowess in a brawl from my nephews. You have even earned the admiration of Fili, who is not as eager to praise the skills of others as his brother. And I am impressed you have made it this far into the wood by yourself." Thorin approached me, coming to stand almost over me.

Since my consciousness had been restored, I had recalled being shorter than most of my family in my memory. Even as a child, I had been small but sturdy. My shoulders and torso, though slim, were broad for a woman, enough so to allow me to wield weapons most others of my gender wouldn't be able to carry.

I looked up to meet his overpowering countenance. He carried himself like a king. I swallowed but kept my expression hard as flint.

"You are welcome to travel with us to the Lake Town, maid." He answered, "But be aware, none of my company will be assigned to protect you should we run into any trouble."

"I will not need any protecting." I answered candidly, with no intention of sounding prideful, "Beorn saw to my upbringing."

Thorin gave a close lipped smiled, nodding, "That is a statement I will not need see to believe."

* * *

**Author's Note: sorry sorry sorry for the long hiatus on this story! I have had several other stories popping around in my head lately. I hope this chapter was acceptable! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SWEET REVIEWS, they are so very appreciated (: yall are awesome!**


	13. Black Waters

I stopped fast in my tracks as we came into the clearing. There it lay, winding its way around the wood as innocent as any other stream. However, there was no mistaking it. Stumbling back, Thorin pushed ahead past me.

"This must be the enchanted river." He stated, studying the black waters warily, "Is it?"

"Yes." I breathed, feeling my insides tremble.

A hand laid heavily on my shoulder. I turned to see Fili. He gripped my forearm before moving past me, his eyes intent on the slow moving current. The other dwarves filed past me, but I felt as though my feet were fastened in place.

"It goes far doesn't it?"

"Is that a bridge?"

The voices became muffled as I recalled the last time I had seen those cursed waters. Beorn had fished me from the river where I had been drifting all night. As he carried me down the shore, I had watched with bleary eyes the strangled sunlight mottling the blackish green current, dead leaves the color of charcoal drifted by slothfully. I remembered smiling strangely as I was overcome by pleasant dreams. I drifted in and out of those dreams where I sat at a long feasting table in a friendly glade lit by torches and autumn fires. There was a strange figure presiding over the festivities; a fair king with a crown of leaves. I slept for nearly a fortnight. When I awoke, I barely remembered how to speak much less anything of my past.

"No, it's just where a bridge used to be."

Bofur kicked one of the rotting pilings into the water. The sudden splash in the quiet wood jolted me from my musings.

"It's too far to jump and we daren't swim it." Thorin boomed before turning to the hobbit where he stood not far off, "Master Bilbo, can you see to the other side?"

Bilbo edged towards the shore. I watched warily, hoping his feet were secure to the ground and in no danger of slipping.

"There is a small boat." Bilbo reported, squinting in the weak light, "I cannot tell if it is tethered to the other side or not."

"It's worth a try." Kili shrugged to his uncle.

Thorin nodded firmly, "A rope!"

After tying one of the hooks they used to strap their traveling packs to their backs to the end of the rope, Fili took it without question as Dwalin handed it to him. Firmly planting his feet as close to the river as he dared, he swung it over his head several times before letting it fly through the thick air. It sunk into the stream. A second try landed it in the woods on the far side of the wood.

"Try not to touch the water on the rope." I said quietly, coming up behind him.

Fili didn't reply as he began to haul it back towards us.

"Wait!" Bilbo called out, "It's in the boat, steady now. It may catch."

The hook managed to latch onto the side of the dark, little boat. The rope tightened as Fili pulled. Still the boat was unmoved on the other side of the river.

"It's not budging." Fili grunted through grinding teeth.

Kili, Oin and Gloin caught the slack at the end of the rope, wrenching it with all their might. Without warning, the boat popped free of whatever held it and began to skid across the current. The dwarves fell backwards. I jumped forward and managed to catch the rope.

"Help!" I cried out as Bilbo jumped forward and drew it towards the bank with a stick.

"I guess it was tied to the other end." Kili observed, brushing his hands off on his sleeves.

I shivered, trying not to be intimidated by the idea of crossing the river, "Hopefully no one comes looking for it."

"We'll cross in small groups," Thorin instructed, "I shall go first."

I hung in the back, hoping I would have time to gather my courage. Thorin instructed me to go with Kili, Oin, Gloin and Dori in the second group. After tying a hook to the other end of the rope, Fili threw it to the other side for those in the boat to pull themselves across the current in lieu of oars. The dwarves from the first group carefully boarded from shore.

Fili's boot slipped on the mossy rock peeking up from the dark waters as he leapt into the boat. I let out an audible gasp that could be heard by the entire tense company. Fili settled into it, his expression drifting from anxiety to surety in one fluid moment. His eyes flickered across the dank air towards me. I shook my head as he winked with a lingering, quiet grin. I still could not comprehend the complete lack of caution on the part of these dwarves.

Kili slapped a hand on my shoulder blade.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

I glanced over briefly. Despite the difficulty of their journey through the wood, his dark eyes flickered weakly with mischief. However, fatigue shadowed his high cheek bones. The corner of my mouth lifted slightly in an attempted smile.

"I suppose."

"Come now, Cub." Kili replied, "If anyone can handle an enemy of their childhood, it should be you. Fili told me what Beorn said of you. The skin changer himself declared there was nothing you were afraid of. A little water is the least of your problems."

"This is not just a little water." I said, eyeing the river like a reviled foe, "It is evil."

"Whatever it is, you are more than capable of handling it."

I hoped I was as capable as Kili, Fili and Thorin seemed to believe as the boat was dragged back to our side of the shore.

* * *

_Fili let out his breath as Cub landed, pale but dry, on the other shore. He couldn't help stepping forward and grasping her outstretched forearm, helping her to solid ground. She gave him a shaky smile and he could feel her fingertips trembling on his wrists. It was a part he had yet to see in her. As she took her place to the side, he forced his focus on the matter at hand. Seeing her in such a state of vulnerability had endeared her all the more to him._

_Pushing the foolish inclination from his head, he watched as Dwalin steadied the boat on the other shore. The large dwarf jumped across the water into it. Bombur seemed less sure._

_"Come on, Bombur." Bofur called out, "There's a lad!"_

_Bombur had one foot in the boat and one on land, his knuckles turning white as he clung to the rope for support. Suddenly, the figure of a deer burst from the darkness of the wood behind them. Quickly, Thorin drew an arrow in his bow and let it fly towards the bounding hart. The animal leaped over the dwarves on the opposite shore, the arrow chasing it into the shadows. There the tapping of its hooves ceased._

_However, the joy of the kill and expectation of the meat it would provide was short lived._

_"Bombur! He's fallen in! He's drowning!"_


End file.
